Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination weighing apparatus.
Related Background Art
A Combination weighing apparatus has widely been known as automatic weighing apparatus which weighs out a fixed weight of articles, such as agricultural products, marine products, and processed foods, whose unit weights vary. A basic structure of such an apparatus comprises a plurality of weighing hoppers arranged in a circle and a distributing supply unit for supplying appropriate amounts of the articles to the respective weighing hoppers.
The distributing supply unit comprises a conical distributing part (which may be referred to as “distributing table” or “distributing feeder” depending on literature) and a plurality of supply feeders arranged radially around the distributing part. The distributing part radially distributes the articles supplied from thereabove. The supply feeders transport to their leading end parts the articles delivered from the distributing part, so as to supply them to the weighing hoppers thereunder.
Various auxiliaries are added to the distributing part of the distributing supply unit according to properties of the articles to be dealt with. For sticky articles such as sliced cheese, for example, a flaking unit, a rotary blade, and the like are attached onto the distributing part (see Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. S64-8638)). For articles which are easy to adhere, such as chopped ginger and pickles, or articles which are prone to entanglement, such as hijiki (Sargassum fusiforme), a rotary flaking rod, an impeller, and the like are attached onto the distributing part (see Patent Literature 2 (Japanese Utility Model No. 2538633) and Patent Literature 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-296098)). For articles having a very small apparent specific gravity, such as chopped seasoned layer and dried bonito shavings (Hanakatsuo (registered trademark)), a rotary stirrer is hung above the distributing part (see Patent Literature 4 (Japanese Utility Model No. 2577716) and Patent Literature 5 (Japanese Patent No. 3718727)). For cuts of meat such as chicken, a helical member adapted to rotate independently of a rotary distributing part is attached onto the rotary distributing part (see Patent Literature 6 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-112897)).